This morning at 6:15 a.m., I hugged JP before he got into Jude's Honda Pilot so she could take him to the airpot. He's flying to Boulder, CO, to spend eight days with a group of college runners training and running at altitude.
JP will be staying in an Airbnb provided by my friend, Rob Trumble, the father of Samuel Trumble ('25), JP's cross country and track teammate at MBA who graduated last year. Rob rented the Airbnb so Samuel and some of his KU teammates could train in Boulder, CO, for part of the summer. Another of JP's teammates from the 2025 MBA cross country and track team who will be there is Mitchell Chaffin ('25). Mitchell is running at Centre College in Danville, KY.
Samuel and Mitchell were co-captains of MBA's cross country team last year, the first in school history to qualify for NXN (Nike Cross Country Nationals) in Portland, OR. As I've written here before, Samuel and Mitchell were consummate leaders who quickly ascertained that JP and his classmate, Gabe Guillamondegui, were legitimate runners who would contribute to the varsity cross country team in a big way as freshman. They encouraged JP and Gabe all season long to be the best runners they could be. The rest, as they say, is history, and the MBA cross country team had a historic season in 2024.
For obvious reasons, Jude and I were trepidatious, at first, when JP mentioned that he might like to go to Boulder, CO, to train with Samuel this summer. We talked about it at length and ultimately decided it would be good for him to go. JP is 17, has a good head on his shoulders, almost always makes the right decisions, and has earned our trust.
I've had several conversations with him about how important it is to make the right decisions while he is in Boulder, CO. I've told him it's likely he will see things, and perhaps be around things, that he's never seen before, at least no close up. Alcohol. Possibly (probably) marijuana, which is legal in Colorado, of course. I reminded him that being in the wrong place at the wrong time can have serious implications for his future, as he begins applying to college. Maybe I'm worrying about that kind of thing too much. Maybe I'm not. Either way, I'm confident JP will make the right decisions, probably more so that I did at his age.
I think it might be one of the best weeks of JP's life to date. Rob indicated that Samuel and Mitchell already have trained with college runners from KU, Colorado, Syracuse, Georgetown, and more. The boys have been swimming, hiking, and fishing, too, which JP will love. It will be eye opening, I think, for JP to be around college runners all week. To see how they train, how hard they work, how they talk and think about running, and their overall all approach to running.
I must admit, thought, that it's a little surreal for me. My protege - as I used to call him while we watched baseball or basketball games on television, or went for a run together - on his first road trip. A road trip that involves him flying across the country at the age of 17 to spend a week, running, with college athletes. I mean, wow.
One day I'm rolling him through the neighborhood in the Baby Jogger City Elite stroller, the Thomas the Train musical caboose is his hands as he pushes the button to play music over an over again, looking up at me through the clark plastic window in the top of the cover, grinning the whole time. The next day, or so it seems, he's flying to Boulder, CO, for a week of running (and playing) with a group of college boys.
Godspeed, JP. Have the time of your life.
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